91,843 companies are planned to be removed from the list by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for not filing annual returns with it.
In a list posted on its website, the commission designated 91,843 organisations for delisting (2,738 fewer than the 94,581 it initially issued in August). This still falls short of the first 100,000 businesses that CAC had earlier declared in a statement.
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of the CAC, Garba Abubakar, declared in July that 100,000 registered businesses would be removed from the organization’s database for neglecting to file an annual return.
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“The CAC is stepping up its enforcement of banning 100,000 companies from its register for not filing an annual return,” he stated.
At that time, Abubakar declared that the commission will notify the impacted enterprises of their impending strike before taking the action specified in section 692 of the CAMA, 2020.
In a December 5 update, the CAC stated: “The list of companies that have not filed current annual returns in accordance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 provisions is now ready for publication in accordance with the provisions of Section 692 of the Act. This is in addition to the Commission’s earlier notice on August 2, 2023, of the commencement of striking off the names of companies from the Register of Companies.
It is recommended that companies that submitted their entire annual reports in response to the previous publication verify their removal from the list of companies that will be struck off. The website of the Commission has the most recent list that is ready for publishing.
It stated that any business whose name appears on the list despite having completed complete annual returns should email compliance@cac.gov.ng as soon as possible, preferably within 30 days, with proof of filing.
It further declared that unless the company’s name is first reinstated on the register by a Federal High Court ruling, it is illegal for any firm whose name has been removed from the register of companies to continue operating.
“The General Public should note further that the Commission’s ability to enforce any liability arising under the Act against the directors of the struck off Company is unaffected by the removal of a company’s name from the Register of Companies,” the statement continued.
